Banished Villainess

chapter 16 : Early Morning in Sacred Church

The next day, Leddorio went to the Holy Church.

As he entered the chapel, he saw Momo clad in monastic clothing, polishing the statue of the first Saintess. Normally, she should be finishing her final academic year around this time, but after having been designated as the Saintess, she was put on temporary leave to start her ascetic practices.

“Oh, Sir Benny! What are you doing in the chapel so early in the morning?”

“Good morning, Momo. Aren’t you a little early too?”

The sound of her voice which was as pleasant as the sound of the wind chimes had easily put the prince in a good mood. It may be for her sake, but the prince felt that all the stress building up having to monitor his former fiancé are being healed. On the other hand, Momo’s usual bright smile looks slightly dimmer clearly showing her fatigue.

“It’s because the church wakes up waaay too early. Every day we have to wake up by five in the morning to do the cleaning before breakfast time! I’m so exhausted already and it’s even harder to keep my stomach from grumbling.”

“Is it that hard for you? Should I ask the head priest to exempt you? It’s already determined that you’re the Saintess anyway, so normally you shouldn’t even be doing these anymore.”

“But… would that really be okay!? I feel bad making Sir Benny go to such lengths for me though…”

“Don’t mind it. You can just bake me cookies in exchange as per usual.”

“Alright, we cannot really freely use the church’s kitchen but… Sir Benny is special after all.”

The prince thought that Momo’s secretive gesture of hiding her lips behind her index finger was nothing short of angelic. Although all of them who wish to protect Momo have an unspoken rule not to steal a march on one another, the prince thinks that he is still in the lead. After all, unlike the other gentlemen, he can meet her like this without their knowledge.

“Although I truly came here because I miss you… can I ask you something”

“What is it, Sir Benny?”

“If you don’t mind me asking, do you know the name, Chaco Brown?”

Momo’s eyes widened at the words of the prince. As he had expected, that person truly exists.

“Chaco was my classmate for two whole years.”

“I see. Do you get along with her?”

“During my first year, she used to speak a lot to me and teach me a lot of things. It made it easier to talk to her since we were both commoners, although we have gotten out of touch now. What about her, sir Benny?”

“Well, do you remember the thing about us monitoring Chloe through Shin?”

“…..Yes.”

The sight of Momo’s eyelashes hanging low made the chest of the prince tighten. He thought that the lady must be in anguish just by thinking that Shin is being compelled to serve his tyrannical mistress. He is already aware that this was due to the lady’s ever gentle heart, but he still cannot help but feel jealous.

“The truth is some trouble had occurred. The two got raided by the bandits and lost their carriage, so for the time being they ended up having to work at a lodging house.”

“!”

“Because of that, Chloe had to use a fake name which was Chaco Brown.”

“Is…that the case? Miss Chloe must have known about Chaco Brown then.”

Seeing Momo lost in thought, the prince suddenly recalled how Chloe had driven her into isolation during their time at the academy.

“You two must’ve been really close before. I am sure that Chloe had a hand on your estrangement from one another. Don’t worry, she is no longer here, so I will return your friend to you in no time.”

“Huh? P-Please wait, your highness!”

　
He left promptly having confirmed the existence of a lady named Chaco Brown. Although Momo was seemingly about to say something, none of it reached the ears of the prince.

His next destination would be the alma mater he had just recently graduated from. His purpose would be to meet the true Chaco Brown. Of course, he would also have to inform her about the wicked lady, Chloe using her name for her own convenience.